1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a television receiver for receiving a television picture signal having a data signal associated therewith a data signal, said data signal representing pages of text and/or graphics.
2. Description of the Related Art
The transmission of a data signal multiplexed with a television signal is well known. An example is the teletext standard in which data, representing pages of information to be displayed, is sent in the vertical blanking interval of a standard analog television picture signal. In addition, with the introduction of MPEG-encoded digital television transmissions, there is a provision for data signals representing pages of text and/or graphics to be multiplexed in the digital data streams representing the television picture signal. The data represents pages of information, and, in this context, a page refers to a quantity of data which is displayed at one time on a television display. Thus, normally one page will be displayed at a time, although it is possible to have a split screen and display a number of pages simultaneously.
With standard teletext transmissions, it is known for pages to be grouped in different manners, and for the data acquisition circuit to be instructed to acquire other pages within the group. One example is the FASTEXT system in which the page numbers of pages linked with the requested page are sent in extension packets, and the acquisition circuit is arranged to capture these pages which are defined by the data in the extension packets. The display of the captured page includes an additional row at the bottom of the page in which identification symbols for the linked pages are displayed. Typically, these identification symbols are short catch-words which identify the information content of the linked pages, and they are each displayed in a different color. Correspondingly, colored buttons are provided on a remote control unit, and a given linked page can be displayed by pressing the appropriately colored button. Such an arrangement has been disclosed in UK Patent Specification GB-A-2146878.
Another teletext signal which has a similar sort of grouping is the TOP System. In this system, a special page, known as Table of Pages, is transmitted which gives linkages between the different pages. Again, these linked pages can be accessed using colored buttons on a remote control unit which correspond to appropriately colored identification symbols in a row of the display.
Linking between pages can be specified in other ways. One facility is often referred to as habit watch. In this case, a microprocessor in a television receiver monitors the pages which are habitually accessed by a user or, alternatively, which were the last pages viewed before the television receiver was switched off, and instructs the data acquisition circuit to pre-capture these pages when the television set is next switched on. Again, these pages may be accessed by means of pressing selected buttons on a remote control unit which correspond to identification symbols on the display.
A television receiver may be arranged to acquire and store several different groups of pages, and the criteria for linking the pages of the group may be different according to the nature of the group. In the case of FASTEXT and TOP, the pages which are linked to form a group and the way in which they are linked is determined by the transmitting authority. With Habit Watch, also known as Favorite Pages, the pages which are grouped together are either obtained by the microprocessor monitoring those pages which are habitually selected by the viewer, or, alternatively, directly entered by a viewer by means of a set-up procedure using the keypad on the remote control unit to select a list of pages. A receiver may be able to acquire and store grouped pages according to any of these criteria. Clearly, if the identification symbols for each of the groups have the same format, this will minimize the number of coded buttons which need to be provided on a remote control unit. It does, however, have the disadvantage that it may be difficult for the viewer to determine which particular group of pages is being accessed at a particular time.
It is an object of the invention to enable an easier interaction between a user and a television receiver, where the television receiver is arranged to decode an associated data signal and store grouped pages of information which that data signal represents.
The invention provides a television receiver for receiving a television picture signal having a data signal associated therewith, said data signal representing pages of text and/or graphics, a page being the data displayable in place of or superimposed on a television picture, said television receiver comprising a data acquisition circuit for acquiring at least selected pages of said associated data, a multi-page memory for storing a plurality of pages of data, means for grouping acquired pages according to a plurality of different criteria, one or more of the pages of each group being linked with a page of that group currently being displayed, means for displaying a plurality of identification symbols relating to at least some of the pages linked to the displayed page, each of said identification symbols being related to a symbol on page selection means which is operable to select, for display, a linked page identified by an identification symbol, and means for displaying one or more further identification symbols which indicate which criteria apply to the group whose identification symbols are currently being displayed.
When a television receiver is capable of receiving and decoding data signals in accordance with the teletext standard, including both the TOP and FASTEXT grouped signals, and also electronic program guide (EPG) signals, it may be difficult for a viewer to keep track of which particular linking between pages in a group is effective at any given time. In addition, if a similar means is used for selecting pages of the Habit Watch group, it becomes increasingly difficult for the viewer to identify which group is presently being selected. In particular, it would be helpful for Habit Watch pages to be selected in the same way as TOP or FASTEXT linked pages, since this minimizes the number of buttons required on a remote control unit. This, however, adds to the potential uncertainty in knowing which particular group of pages is being selected and which linked pages are likely to be available. The invention allows for the display of further identification symbols which indicate which group the page belongs to, and, consequently, the viewer will be aware of the criteria which govern those pages linked to the displayed page. Thus, the user will be aware of whether the linking is by means of decisions made by the broadcaster, or whether the linking is to further favorite pages of the viewer.
The identification signals may be displayed in a row at a predetermined location outside the page on the display. The predetermined location may be the bottom row of the display screen.
This is the format in which the TOP and FASTEXT identification symbols are presently displayed, and retaining this format will enable the viewer to quickly learn how to interact with the information displayed, as previous knowledge of use of the arrangement with TOP and/or FASTEXT will be relevant.
Each of the identification symbols may have a different color. The page selection means may comprise a remote control unit having a plurality of colored keys having colors corresponding to those of the identification symbols, and means for selecting for display the page identified by the color of the key operated on the remote control.
This enables the same interaction between the television receiver and the viewer as is presently performed for the TOP and FASTEXT functions. Thus, the viewer does not have to learn a new protocol for interacting with the television receiver.
If a displayed page is a member of more than one group, then a corresponding number of rows of identification symbols may be displayed, a corresponding further symbol being associated with each row. As an example, a page may be a member of a group of favorite pages of a viewer and also have associated therewith FASTEXT or TOP links. Thus, a viewer may be able to select, by means of a first button which identifies the further identification symbol and a given colored button, the identification symbol of the page which the viewer wishes to have displayed. Clearly, a different page may be selected using the same colored key if the further identification symbol selected is different. As an alternative, a single row of identification symbols may be displayed, the information in the identification symbols being dependent on which of the further identification symbols is displayed alongside that row. Under these circumstances, it is necessary to be able to scroll through the further identification symbols in order to select linkages within the group that the viewer wishes to access. Thus, the viewer may access TOP, FASTEXT, Favorite Page groups, etc., by scrolling the further identification symbol and then using the colored button to select the linked page.
One of the groups may be a group of Favorite Pages which may be entered by a viewer or may be generated by monitoring the pages habitually selected by the viewer. The number of pages in the group need not be restricted to the number of identification symbols which may be displayed on the screen at any one time, although it will only be possible to move directly from a displayed page to one of the pages in the group which is the subject of an identification symbol. Thus, in this instance, it may be that the list of favorite pages is arranged in descending order of desirability. In that case, it would be expected that the viewer would go from one end to the other end of the list. Alternatively, the favorite pages could be sub-grouped by topic. Thus, for example, a first sub-group of pages could be devoted to news items, a further sub-group of pages to sports items, a further sub-group of pages to entertainment, and a further sub-group of pages to weather. Clearly, the subjects of the sub-groups will depend on the particular interests of the viewer. One convenient way this could be coded is to have those pages in a sub-group allocated identification symbols with one identification symbol reserved for the primary page of a different sub-group. In that way, the number of button operations required to reach a different sub-group will be minimized.
A plurality of groups of favorite pages may be stored, as some of the groups being associated with different viewers. In which case, a further identification symbol may identify which viewer is associated with the favorite pages selected.
In a family environment, the favorite pages of different members of the family may reflect their different interests. Thus, a teenage daughter may be interested in fashion and pop stars, whereas a teenage son may be interested in football and motoring. By making the further identification symbol indicate which viewer""s favorite pages are being accessed, it enables a viewer to quickly move to his/her own favorite pages rather than accessing those of another member of the family by mistake.